Jaden Ivey, AJ Griffin highlight Saturday's top performers
College basketball fans were treated to a bevy of marquee matchups on Saturday as 21 ranked squads took the court.
While at times it felt like a near-impossible task to keep up with the action (unless of course you've got about eight sets of eyes), we've got you covered with the top performances from a jam-packed day.
Here are the top performers from Saturday's games:
Jay Wright's team is loaded with scorers. Four players reached double-digits in the Wildcats' 85-74 victory over No. 17 UConn. Caleb Daniels, Brandon Slater, Collin Gillespie and Dixon all had big outings, but no one was more potent in the points department than Dixon. The 6-foot-8 sophomore exploded onto the stat sheet with a season-high 24-point outburst, complementing that with 12 rebounds. He also shot 66.7% from the floor and dished out four assists, a block and a steal. Dixon doesn't post big minutes every night, but he rewarded Wright's confidence in him with a wondrous showing in one of his best outings yet.
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Eric Dixon went for 24 points and 12 rebounds as the Villanova Wildcats beat the UConn Huskies, 85-74.
Trent Frazier, No. 18 Illinois
The Fighting Illini sit in first place in the Big Ten and improved to 10-2 in conference play with a comfortable 74-57 victory over the Indiana Hoosiers.
Frazier entered Saturday's matchup as the team's leading assist-man, averaging 3.8 per game. But in this outing, his scoring ability was on full display. The senior guard was fiery from deep, hitting three big 3-pointers en route to scoring a game-high 23 points. He added four assists, two rebounds and a block in the win.
Ivey was only on the bench for three minutes of the Boilermakers' emphatic 82-76 win over Hunter Dickinson and the Michigan Wolverines. During his 37 minutes, Ivey posted 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds.
Ivey was nearly unblemished from the charity stripe, knocking down seven of his eight free throw attempts. He was dominant down the stretch, scoring seven of the team's last nine points, including the game's final FTs to stave off Michigan's late comeback attempt.
Ochai Agbaji, and Christian Braun, No. 10 Kansas
Nobody expected the scoreboard to show a 20-point advantage for either squad in this one, and yet the Jayhawks were dominant on Saturday as they ran No. 8 Baylor off the floor.
It was a total team effort, but Kansas got huge contributions from two players in particular: Agbaji and Braun. Both poured in 18 points in the Jayhawks' impressive 83-59 win over the Bears. Agbaji did a large portion of his damage from the charity stripe, going 6-7 from there, while Braun was stellar as a jump shooter and dribble-driver. Both were also outstanding on the glass. Braun pulled down 10 boards, while Agbaji registered nine in perhaps Kansas' biggest win of the season.
The latest edition of the Duke-UNC showdown was a clash that resulted in a one-sided affair. UNC has struggled all season long, and its woes continued in Chapel Hill, as the Tar Heels fell to the Blue Devils, 87-67.
Duke is a top-notch program oozing with talent, and in this particular outing, Griffin showed why he has first-round projections written all over him. The 6-foot-6 freshman erupted for 27 points and four boards in 31 minutes of action in Coach K's final game in Chapel Hill. Griffin was a force in the paint and comfortable from 3-point range, making three of his six attempts from beyond the arc.
He set a new season-high for points in game, while Duke has now won five straight.